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Clagett Farm is a working farm, owned and operated by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. At the farm we grow vegetables for our Community Supported Agriculture program, raise grass fed cattle and have a native tree nursery on more than 285 acres.
Read on if you want to find out about our programs. You can also visit our "Clagett Farm Notes" Blog to get updates, healthy recipies, and share your thoughts about Clagett Farm.
Fresh, Local & Chemical Free
At Clagett Farm, our ultimate goal is to use farming methods that are truly sustainable—both economically and environmentally. The farm is not certified organic, but we follow organic standards to protect our watershed, our consumers and ourselves. We encourage everyone to visit the farm and inquire more about our crop rotations, tillage methods, fertility and pest control. While the farm is not perfectly sustainable, this struggle inspires us to continue improving our farm.
What is From the Ground Up?
Located just 5 miles from the Capital Beltway, we at Clagett Farm strive to support our community and sustain our environment with our vegetable production project called "From the Ground Up." Started in 1992, From the Ground Up (FGU) is a joint effort of the Capital Area Food Bank and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. We raise a wide variety of produce and strive to provide our food to people of all income levels. Almost half of our produce is distributed free or at reduced prices to underserved communities in Washington D.C. The rest is sold through a method called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
What is Community Supported Agriculture?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an innovative marketing tool for farmers, which allows the consumer to pre-purchase a “share” of the harvest for the season—thus creating a mutually supportive relationship between local farmers and community members.
Here’s How It Works
If you purchase one `share’, you become a member of our farm. Each week, from mid-May to mid-November, we divide our harvest by the number of our shares. All you need to do is come to your pick-up site and take your portion of that harvest. In addition, you are welcome to come to your farm at any time to visit, to help, or to harvest as much as you want from the items on our you-pick list. The you-pick list might include flowers, herbs, and any vegetables we have in abundance, such as tomatoes or collard greens.
Why Join Clagett Farm?
- Because your purchases should reflect what’s important to you.
- Fresh! Most of it is harvested the same day you receive it.
- Delicious! We choose varieties for their flavor, not their ability to endure cross-country travel.
- It’s your farm! You can meet your farmers, see how we grow your food, and even lend a hand.
- Local! We’re just 15 miles from the US Capitol—purchasing a share keeps your food dollars in our local community and helps preserve farmland.
- Good neighbors! We distribute almost half of our produce, free or at low cost, directly to low-income families that need it.
- Healthy! Your share will encourage you to eat more fresh vegetables, and to eat them in season when they are most nutritious, flavorful, and environmentally friendly.
- We do not use genetically modified seeds.
Want Our Produce? Here’s How:
- CSA Membership - Most of our customers buy our produce by paying in the spring for a membership in our CSA. Our regular price CSA membership is FULL for the 2009 season. If you would like to be notified as soon as shares are available for the 2010 season, email us at clagettfarm@cbf.org and we will put you on our email notification list. We do have reduced-price shares available for sale to low-income folks.
- Clagett Farm Workshare - Pick your own veggies! Work four hours or more at the farm, and take home a share of produce fresh-picked by yourself. Each week that you work, you take home the same share of produce that a paying CSA member would take. Please see below for the guildelines on being a workshare at the farm.
What Will Our Harvest Be Like?
 We grow a wide variety of vegetables. Here’s a sample of what your shares might include throughout the growing season:
May-June: Salad greens, beets, turnips, radishes, broccoli, kohlrabi, collards, spinach, braising greens, and you-pick strawberries.
July-Sept: Zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, basil, eggplants, okra, melons, sweet corn, cucumbers, potatoes, beans and garlic.
Sept.-Nov: Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, butternut squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, salad greens, carrots, turnips, collards, chard, spinach, beets and radishes.
The Risks:
Be aware that there are a few reasons why a CSA share might not be right for you. We cannot always plant exactly the vegetables you want in every season. Even if we did, we cannot predict the changes in weather, pests, and the myriad other circumstances that shift the fortunes of every farm, year to year. A CSA share is great for someone who is willing to try new foods, and can adapt their recipes to suit the vegetables they have at hand. Our farm cannot create the selection you have at a grocery store, so don’t purchase a share if you’re not able to be a little adventurous in the kitchen.
Share Options:
Regular prices shares are SOLD OUT for the 2009 season. If you are interested in being a shareholder in 2010 please send an email to clagettfarm@cbf.org and check our Blog for updates. Prices for 2010 are subject to change.
Reduced price shares are available throughout the season to those who qualify (Clagett Farm pick-up only). Please see #3 below for qualifications.
1. REGULAR CSA SHARE:
Shareholders can pick up their share from one of two locations:
Clagett Farm…. 11904 Old Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro, MD
$460 + $50 new member fee = $510
Tuesdays, 3:00pm—7:00pm OR Saturdays, 1:00pm—4:00pm
(We recommend Saturday—since fewer people want to pick up on Saturday, those shares get more of a few crops
that must be picked frequently and do not keep well in the cooler, such as sweet peas.)
Dupont Circle….First Baptist Church parking lot, 17th & O Sts., NW, Washington, DC
Tuesdays, 5:00pm-7:00pm
$500 + $50 new member fee = $550
* You will only owe the new member fee your first year as a member.
2. WORK SHARE:
In our workshare program we offer a share of vegetables to any adult who works 4 hours or more. If you are intersted in doing a workshare (or simply volunteering at the farm) please call (301) 537-3038 to schedule a time with us . We accept worksharers on Tuesday through Saturday. We need the most help on our harvest days - Tuesdays and Saturdays*. We ask weekday worksharers to arrive between 8am and 11am in order to have time to complete your four hours of work. To find us when you arrive look for a note at the wash station or call (301)537-3038 to locate us in the fields.
* Working on a SATURDAY:
a. You MUST call ahead to sign up. Call (301) 537-3038 between 8am and 4pm on the Thursday or Friday before the Saturday you would like to come to the farm. You will know by the end of the day on Friday if we have enough space to accommodate you as a worksharer. If you come to the farm without scheduling ahead of time, we will not be able to offer you a share. * Please note - if you reserve a slot we are depending on you to come that Saturday. Your reservation means other people may have been turned away. We do depend on the immense help worksharers offer, so please let us know if your plans change.
b. In order to utilize your help most effectively, please arrive by 8:15am, ready to work by 8:30am. That way we can take you to the fields all at one time and give instructions to you as a group to get started. You will work with us through the end of the harvest, usually around 12:30 or 1pm.
c. If we did not have space for you as a worksharer, you are always welcome to volunteer on Saturday (or any week day) for any amount of hours.
Bringing KIDS on any day: While we welcome kids to visit and experience the farm - if you bring children when you want to do a workshare please understand that time spent with the kids and not working does not count towards your share hours. Also you will not receive extra shares for the kids. Some families have opted to bring two adults, which allows one to watch the kids and one to do the workshare.
3. REDUCED PRICE SHARES:
We offer half-price shares to low-income households or individuals. Anyone who falls below the income guidelines listed in the chart below or who qualifies for government assistance (WIC, EBT, disability) is welcomed to purchase a CSA share at half-price (shares can be purchased using Food Stamp Benefits). Reduced price members receive the same full-sized share as full paying members; there is no differentiation at the pick up sites. Other benefits include no membership fee and the ability to join at any time during the season. If you’re not sure if you qualify, but you’re struggling financially, come talk to us.
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Pick Up Location
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Full Price Share
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Reduced Price Share
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Pick Up Times
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Clagett Farm
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Sold Out
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$230
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Tuesdays 3-7pm
Saturdays 1-4pm
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Dupont Circle *
(17th & O Sts)
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Sold Out |
Sold Out |
Tuesdays 5-7pm
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* There are a limited number of shares we can deliver to the Dupont pick-up site
Providing Produce to Underserved Communities
Many people in our region do not have access to the fresh produce we all need to stay healthy. With assistance from our sponsors, the Capital Area Food Bank and Chesapeake Bay Foundation, we distribute almost half of our produce in these low-income communities. Your CSA membership provides enough funds to bring you six months of great produce, but to provide these same vegetables to the low-income community we need extra support.
Donations help us continue and expand our low-price farm stands, subsidized CSA shares to homebound seniors in Anacostia, and the many other ways we try to make our produce convenient and affordable to those in need. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation towards low-income shares.
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